Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) - China - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Convention. Entitlement to weekly rest – Permanent and temporary exemptions. The Committee notes the comments of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which were received on 1 September 2013 and transmitted to the Government on 20 September 2013, concerning the application of the Convention. In its observations, the ITUC refers to the Labour Relations Law (Decree No. 7/2008), which entered into force on 1 January 2009, and indicates that there is no provision requiring the application of weekly rest to the whole staff of the establishment collectively. The ITUC also draws attention to the fact that the permitted exceptions to the basic 24-hour weekly rest rule are defined loosely in the Labour Relations Law, and are subject to the unilateral decision of the employer. Moreover, the ITUC refers to certain provisions of the Labour Relations Law which represent a particular risk of abuse, for instance, section 42(2) which allows flexible arrangements of four paid rest days in every four weeks, if the employer and the employee so agree, and section 43(3) which permits workers to work voluntarily on a weekly rest day and receive either a compensatory rest day within 30 days or one day’s basic salary. The ITUC alleges that it would be very difficult to verify the “voluntary” character of the worker’s decision which may easily be falsified under the pressure of the employer. Finally, with reference to migrant workers, the ITUC notes that the Employment of Foreign Labour Law does not contain specific provisions on weekly rest protection and refers to 2006 inspection statistics showing that 41 per cent of all weekly rest infringements concerned non-resident workers. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in reply to the observations of the ITUC. The Committee also requests the Government to respond to the points raised in the previous direct request regarding the application of Articles 2, 6 and 7 of the Convention.